Maududi explains that this verse contrasts the Jewish dietary code with the Islamic one. The restrictions placed upon the Jews — animals with undivided claws, the fat of cattle and sheep — were not part of the original Abrahamic law. They were imposed as jazā' (recompense) for baghy — their persistent transgression and rebellion against Allah. Islam, in contrast, lifts these special restrictions and returns to the original pure Hanif diet (as detailed in 5:5). The point is twofold: (1) the Mushriks cannot claim these prohibitions as universal religion; (2) Allah's word concerning what He has actually forbidden in Surah Al-An'am (verses 145, 151–153) is the only authoritative list.

Maududi explains that this verse holds Allah's two attributes in perfect balance: raḥmatun wāsi'ah (vast, boundless mercy) and ba'sun lā yuradd (a wrath that cannot be repelled). The address to the rejectors is a final warning wrapped in invitation — they are still given the door of mercy, but they are told plainly that if they persist, the divine sentence cannot be turned back by anyone. This combination is repeated throughout the Qur'an because a half-truth (mercy only) breeds presumption, while another half-truth (wrath only) breeds despair. Both together produce the proper state of raja' (hope) and khawf (fear).

Maududi devotes long commentary to dismantling this argument — one of the most persistent rationalizations of human history. The Mushriks reason: "If Allah did not want us to commit shirk, He would have stopped us. Since He has not, our shirk must be His will, hence permissible." Maududi answers in three steps: (1) Allah's creative will (irādah kawniyyah) — which permits things to happen — is not the same as His commanding will (irādah shar'iyyah), which expresses what He approves of; (2) this is the very excuse that destroyed the previous nations who used it; (3) the rejectors have no evidence ('ilm) — they have only ẓann (speculation) and kharṣ (fanciful guessing). It is a confession of intellectual bankruptcy dressed as theology.

Allah's ḥujjah bālighah — the conclusive, decisive argument — stands above every human excuse. Maududi explains: yes, Allah could have compelled every soul to believe; but He chose to give humans real moral responsibility, real choice, real accountability. The very fact that humans can reject Him is the proof that they are responsible when they do. The fatalist's argument collapses on itself: if everything is forced, then your own argument is also forced — and meaningless. Maududi calls this one of the great Qur'anic refutations of the doctrine that conflates divine permission with divine pleasure.

A challenge of judicial precision: produce your witnesses — anyone with real divine authority — to testify that Allah has prohibited what you claim. The Mushriks' prohibitions (the bahirah, sā'ibah, waṣīlah, ḥām of 5:103) had no sanction beyond the customs of their forefathers. Maududi notes the verse instructs the Prophet ﷺ — and every believer after him — never to concur in false testimony, even when the entire society treats it as obvious. The criterion is clear: those who lie about Allah's revelations and reject the Hereafter are not credible authorities on what He has commanded.

Maududi treats this passage as the moral charter of Islam — what scholars have long called the Wasāyā 'Ashr, the Ten Commandments. Ibn 'Abbas (RA) said: "Whoever wants to see the will (waṣiyyah) of Muhammad ﷺ stamped with his seal, let him recite these verses." Each commandment is precise and ordered: (1) Tawhid is first — every other moral act collapses without it; (2) Iḥsān to parents — placed immediately after Tawhid, signaling that worship of Allah and honor to parents are inseparable; (3) No killing children — the Arabs buried daughters and sometimes sons out of fear of poverty; Allah promises to provide for both you and them, removing the false premise; (4) Stay far from indecency — lā taqrabū means do not even approach, whether the act is public (ẓāhir — fornication, public shamelessness) or private (bāṭin — hidden affairs, inner moral corruption); (5) The sanctity of life — killing a soul Allah has made inviolable is permitted only bi'l-ḥaqq (by right — i.e., a court of justice executing for capital crime, never private vengeance). Maududi notes these five form the foundation of every just civilization.

The second tablet of commandments — extending Tawhid into the marketplace, the courtroom, and every social contract. (6) The orphan's wealth is hedged with the strongest fence: do not approach it except in the way that is best (aḥsan) — not merely permissible, but the most beneficial for the orphan. Guardians must hold it in trust until the orphan reaches full maturity (ashudd). (7) Honest measurement — full measure (kayl) and full weight (mīzān) in qisṭ, with the merciful clause "We do not burden a soul beyond its capacity" — meaning Allah requires sincere effort, not perfection. (8) Just speech — when you give testimony, declare a verdict, or speak in any consequential matter, be just even if it goes against a close relative. Maududi underlines: this is the verse that turned Arab tribal partiality on its head — the believer's loyalty is to the truth, not to the bloodline. (9) Fulfill Allah's covenant — every covenant taken with Him, from the primordial mīthāq of the souls to every contract, oath, vow, prayer, fast, and treaty undertaken in His name. Maududi notes that this is the unifying principle: a Muslim's word must be binding.

The tenth commandment is the seal of all the others — and the most decisive. Maududi explains that the nine before are like the rooms of a building; this tenth is the foundation upon which they all stand. Hādhā ṣirāṭī mustaqīman — "This is My path, straight." The path is singular (ṣirāṭ) and the wrong roads are plural (subul): there is one straight road and innumerable crooked ones. The verb fa-tafarraqa bikum means "lest they fragment you away from His path" — sectarianism, partisan religion, and personal whims do not just lead astray; they shatter the unity of the Ummah. The famous hadith of Ibn Mas'ud (RA), recorded by Ahmad and others, describes the Prophet ﷺ drawing a single straight line in the sand and many crooked lines branching off, then reciting this very verse. Maududi notes the verse ends with tattaqūn (so that you may have taqwa) — because the natural fruit of staying on the straight path is reverent God-consciousness; the natural fruit of branching is loss of taqwa entirely.

Having stated the universal Ten Commandments — the moral substance of every divine message — Allah turns to history: this same substance was given in greater detail to Musa (AS) in the Torah. Tamāman 'alā alladhī aḥsan means "a completion of grace upon the one who excels in good." Maududi notes the verse subtly disarms a Mushrik objection: "We never received a book." Allah replies — yes, you didn't, but the Torah was given, and its core message is what you are now hearing from Muhammad ﷺ. The Qur'an is not a rupture; it is the completion of what Musa brought, and what Ibrahim (AS) walked, and what every prophet conveyed.

A verse of beautiful brevity. The Qur'an is mubārak — full of blessing, of barakah that increases and overflows. Three short commands follow: ittabi'ūhu (follow it), ittaqū (have taqwa), tur-ḥamūn (be granted mercy). Maududi explains the sequence is causal: following the Book produces taqwa; taqwa is the door to divine mercy. The verse closes the Ten Commandments section by re-anchoring the listener to the source: do not merely admire these commands as ethics — bind yourself to the Book that contains them, and let it shape your life until mercy descends.